Hamas official: Ceasefire draft reached

[bemildred]

Israel and Hamas have drafted an agreement for an 18-month cease-fire between them, Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil said in comments published Thursday morning.

Al-Bardawil told state-run Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that the deal would include the opening of the Gaza crossings for 80 percent of goods.

Bardawil said that several issues remained unresolved, among them the type of goods to be allowed through the crossings, and Israel's refusal to allow an international presence at the crossings.

On Wednesday a senior Hamas official told The Jerusalem Post that "obstacles" still remain that are blocking a cease-fire deal.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304688702&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[azurnoir]

1. Thanks

hopefully this "takes"

[bemildred]

2. Not holding my breath.

It does sound like some real negotiations are going on. I has occurred to me that the current government of Israel could be under a lot of pressure to pull a rabbit out of the hat, in hopes of turning the election around.

[azurnoir]

3. Pullig a rabbit out of a hat?

for some reason it made me think of a Rocky and Bullwinkle short

[bemildred]

4. Show biz is show biz, but the cartoons were funnier than this stuff. nt

[bunnies]

5. Anyone think Netanyahu will be bound by this?

Anyone? :shrug:

[bemildred]

6. Sources: Significant progress in Gaza truce negotiations

There has been significant progress in Egyptian-brokered negotiations for an Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza, Israeli and Palestinian sources said Friday.

The draft agreement is still apparently awaiting the approval of Hamas' leadership in Damascus. The head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, Maj.-Gen. (res) Amos Gilad, is expected to travel to Cairo in the coming days in order to advance the talks.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062222.html

[bemildred]

7. Hamas 'not responsible' for recent rocket attacks, says Israel

Hamas fighters have not launched the most recent rocket attacks from inside Gaza and the movement may be edging towards a ceasefire agreement, according to Israeli security officials.

Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on Jan 18 after fighting a 22-day war in Gaza which claimed about 1,300 lives. The aim was to stop Palestinian guerrillas from bombarding southern Israel – but at least 40 rockets and mortar bombs have been fired since the operation ended, with two exploding yesterday morning.

However, an Israeli security official acquitted Hamas of responsibility for the most recent attacks. "Our intelligence says it's not them," he said. Instead, other groups, notably Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and fighters linked to the supposedly moderate Fatah movement are thought to have launched these strikes.

Israeli officials disagree over whether Hamas, which still controls Gaza's government, is capable of stopping the attacks. Another senior official said that at present, with its organisation shattered by Israel's offensive, Hamas was probably unable to prevent other groups from firing rockets.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/4538827/Hamas-not-responsible-for-recent-rocket-attacks-says-Israel.html

[Vegasaurus]

8. What possible good is a "ceasefire"

when dozens of rockets and mortars continue to fall?

That is an idiotic ceasefire, not worth the paper it is printed on, or the words wasted saying it.

[bemildred]

9. Good for whom? What good is the present situation? nt

[Vegasaurus]

11. It's a bad situation, no doubt

but worse for the Palestinians than for the Israelis.

Usually, the people in the worst situation recognize that, and try to fix it.

But the Palestnians seem determined to go for the worst misery humanly possible.

The status quo can continue for the Israelis, but you'd think that the Palestinian leadership (if they cared about their people, which they don;t), would try to move in a new direction, away from violence and terrorism.

We don't see that though, so the present situation continues.

[azurnoir]

13. You are truly amazing

why you apparently have the ability to write but lack the ability to read

[Bodhi BloodWave]

10. well, in that case, MAYBE

Israel should not have been attacking police stations neh?

How do anybody expect Hamas/the Palestinians to actually stop anything when the IDF is killing them and destroying their stations?

[bemildred]

12. Hamas heavyweight Zahar In Egypt For Gaza Truce Talks

RAFAH, Egypt (AFP)--Mahmud Zahar, a top Hamas leader in Gaza, crossed to Egypt on Saturday for talks on consolidating a ceasefire with Israel in the battered coastal enclave, witnesses and a Hamas source said.

It was the first time Zahar had been seen in public since Israel's massive 22- day war against Gaza's Islamist rulers which ended with both sides calling separate ceasefires on Jan. 18.

He is among a delegation of seven Hamas officials who crossed the Rafah border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on their way to Cairo for talks with intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

Zahar, believed to be the overall Hamas leader in the Palestinian territories, told the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television station that he would meet with Egyptian negotiators and members of Hamas's Syrian-based politburo later in the day.

NASDAQ